If the Ring Fits
by DanniB
Summary: A short drabble in which Calhoun is given a sign that she and Felix are meant to be


If The Ring Fits

{Author's note} All the included characters are owned by Disney

Sergeant Calhoun rummaged through the closet in her private quarters until she found the plain gray box stuffed away at the very back. She held it in both hands, perfectly still, as if some player had hit her pause button. A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"We can get other rings if your not comfortable usin' those." She heard Felix say from behind. "I mean, there are lots a games we could get new ones from."

She looked over her shoulder at him. Since she was kneeling she was at level to look directly into his soft blue eyes. He was smiling sympathetically. He was always keeping her feelings in mind. After he had proposed and she had decided to wear the same dress she had worn on that fateful day from her backstory, he had genuinely been concerned when she locked up several times between looking for it in her wardrobe, finding it hanging there and letting it once again see the light of day she never dreamed it ever would again. But despite the setbacks, she was as resolute with that decision as she was now with this one.

She reached up and pat his hand, shaking her head.

"I'm fine." She assured him. He removed his hand only to twiddle his thumbs and frown nervously as she opened the box and hesitated again.

Inside, set in velvet, were three smaller boxes. Ring boxes. One box, which sat in the center, she knew was empty. The engagement ring it once contained now hung with a set of dog-tags on a chain that once belonged to the man who had given it to her.

The other two boxes contained the rings she and that man never had the joy of exchanging before the nightmarish event that stole him away from her. She shook her memory away and turned back to Felix.

_He_ was her man now, she reminded herself. He was here. He was supportive. He was patient and full of unyielding love. He'd do anything to make sure she was happy. New rings would be symbolic of the new life she'd be starting with him, but she needed to do it this way for herself.

She didn't want to erase her past: as if it were even _possible_ to remove the seared in scars the branding iron of programming had burned into her mind. She wanted to prove she was stronger than those memories; that she could walk down the aisle a second time and not flinch, to overcome her programming and the fate to be forever hurt and grieving, and move on with her life; a life that would be considerably happier.

She removed one of the boxes and set the container aside. She took a deep breath and opened it. She froze again. Inside was the ring meant for _him_: the man who was now gone_._ A solid steel band, still perfectly polished. She ran a tentative finger over the cold metal and exhaled a sigh. Over her shoulder she could feel Felix watching her with uncertainty, drawing forward but then pulling himself back. He knew she didn't want him coddling her, but his natural instinct to want to comfort her at every turn were hard to resist. She admired his compassion, but these were her demons to face and they both knew it.

She returned the groom's ring box to the gray container and pulled out its twin. With another cleansing breath she opened it and mentally resisted the oncoming tide of melancholy.

Her ring stared back at her; white gold studded with small diamonds recessed into the metal. It was designed this way so she could wear it under her armored gloves without complications or discomfort, a way she could have the symbol of their union with her at all times forever. That forever had been cut short, but a new once awaited her. She removed her glove and delicately plucked the ring from the box. She felt its weight in her naked hand. Sitting in her palm she observed its sparkle. Then, with swift resolve, she slipped it onto her finger.

The metal was cold as it wrapped around her digit, but it fit snuggly next to her new engagement ring, the simple one Felix had given her after trading away several of his hard earned medals to pay for it. It was a gesture she found unquestionably sweet, since she knew how sentimentally attached he was to his game winnings. The two rings twinkled on her hand under the low lighting. They weren't perfectly matched, but they looked good together.

"It fits…" she heard Felix murmur behind her. Confused annoyance tugged her lips downward.

"Of course it fits," She sighed, turning to him. "Why would you think it wouldn't…" She trailed off as it was revealed to her what he was actually referring to.

While she had been distracted by her own ring, she hadn't even noticed him pick up the other box, remove his work glove, and try on the ring that had once been meant for Brad. Now that metal band sat on this handyman's finger, and it fit perfectly.

"It fits…" She reached out and took his hand, marveling at the unlikelihood that one ring could so easily adorn two men from completely different games.

"Well, don't that beat all?" Felix smiled, chuckling lightly. "Won't need to have it re-sized or anything." His thick, 8-bit fingers gently closed around her slender high-definition ones.

She smiled back at him. Any doubts she may have had about re-using these rings melted into nonexistence. The ring fit. It was a good omen; like Brad himself was approving her new suitor. Another gaze into Felix's eyes told her that indeed, Brad would want her to be happy, just as Felix wanted her happy. She could put her past behind her without guilt. She could confidently move forward.

"I'd be a darn shame if we didn't use them now." She replied. With her other, still gloved hand, she reached around Felix's head and drew him close. He followed her lead and leaned in for a tender kiss. It lasted good and long, their ungloved hands still clasped together the whole while.

[The End]


End file.
